On Friday, May 11, 2012, a horse located at Castlewood Equestrian Center in Douglas County tested positive for the neuropathogenic strain of the Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) and had to be euthanized. As a result of the single confirmed case, Castlewood Equestrian Center was immediately placed under quarantine as mandated by the Colorado State Veterinarian’s Office. Effective immediately, and until further notice, absolutely no movement of horses in or out of the facility is permitted.
A member of the state veterinarian’s office was on premises Friday afternoon to instruct the entire Castlewood staff regarding proper bio-security measures which were immediately employed. Every precaution is being taken to limit spread of the virus on the property. These intensive bio-security measures will continue until the quarantine is lifted by the State.
At the present time, only one horse was infected, and no other horses on the property are showing any symptoms. The infected horse arrived to Castlewood on May 1, 2012, after traveling from a facility in Iowa. The horse was not a show horse and had not traveled anywhere else prior to arriving in Colorado. The Iowa State Veterinarian was immediately notified on Friday afternoon and has been in contact with the origin facility. Likewise, the transport company carrying the horse has been notified, and the Colorado State Veterinarian’s office continues to closely monitor the situation and has contacted the owners of the other horses on the transport as well as the facilities to which they traveled.
Castlewood Equestrian Center is a relatively self-contained facility whose horses do not travel to and from the facility with great regularity. There are virtually no hunter/jumpers housed on the facility so cross-contamination with horses exhibiting at the Colorado Horse Park is extremely unlikely.
For additional information, visit http://www.littletonequine.com
For continued updates from the Colorado State Veterinarian, please visit the Colorado Department of Agriculture web site.